Snarleyyow | Page 6

the breakfast appropriated for Smallbones. Having effected this, the
dog followed his master.
Chapter III
A retrospect, and short description of a new character
But we must leave poor Smallbones to lament his hard fate in the fore peak of the vessel,
and Mr Vanslyperken and his dog to walk the quarter-deck, while we make our readers a
little better acquainted with the times in which the scenes passed which we are now
describing, as well as with the history of Mr Vanslyperken.
The date in our first chapter, that of the year 1699, will, if they refer back to history, show
them that William of Nassau had been a few years on the English throne, and that peace
had just been concluded between England with its allies and France. The king
occasionally passed his time in Holland, among his Dutch countrymen, and the English
and Dutch fleets, which but a few years before were engaging with such an obstinacy of
courage, had lately sailed together, and turned their guns against the French. William,
like all those continental princes who have been called to the English throne, showed
much favour to his own countrymen, and England was overrun with Dutch favourites,
Dutch courtiers, and peers of Dutch extraction. He would not even part with his Dutch
guards, and was at issue with the Commons of England on that very account. But the war
was now over, and most of the English and Dutch navy lay dismantled in port, a few
small vessels only being in commission to intercept the smuggling from France that was
carrying on, much to the detriment of English manufacture, of certain articles then
denominated alamodes and lutestrings. The cutter we have described was on this service,
and was named the Yungfrau, although built in England, and forming a part of the
English naval force.
It may readily be supposed that Dutch interest, during this period, was in the ascendant.
Such was the case: and the Dutch officers and seamen who could not be employed in
their own marine were appointed in the English vessels, to the prejudice of our own
countrymen. Mr Vanslyperken was of Dutch extraction, but born in England long before
the Prince of Orange had ever dreamt of being called to the English throne. He was a near
relation of King William's own nurse, and even in these days, that would cause powerful

interest. Previous to the revolution he had been laid on the shelf for cowardice in one of
the engagements between the Dutch and the English, he being then a lieutenant on board
of a two-decked ship, and of long standing in the service; but before he had been
appointed to this vessel, he had served invariably in small craft, and his want of this
necessary qualification had never been discovered. The interest used for him on the
accession of the Dutch king was sufficient for his again obtaining the command of a
small vessel. In those days, the service was very different from what it is now. The
commanders of vessels were also the pursers, and could save a great deal of money by
defrauding the crew; and further, the discipline of the service was such as would astonish
the modern philanthropist; there was no appeal for subordinates, and tyranny and
oppression, even amounting to the destruction of life, were practised with impunity.
Smollett has given his readers some idea of the state of the service a few years after the
time of which we are now writing, when it was infinitely worse, for the system of the
Dutch, notorious for their cruelty, had been grafted upon that of the English: the
consequence was, a combination of all that was revolting to humanity was practised
without any notice being taken of it by the superior powers, provided that the
commanders of the vessels did their duty when called upon, and showed the necessary
talent and courage.
Lieutenant Vanslyperken's character may be summed up in the three vices of avarice,
cowardice, and cruelty. A miser in the extreme, he had saved up much money by his
having had the command of a vessel for so many years, during which he had defrauded
and pilfered both from the men and the government. Friends and connections he had none
on this side of the water, and, when on shore, he had lived in a state of abject misery,
although he had the means of comfortable support. He was now fifty-five years of age.
Since he had been appointed to the Yungfrau, he had been employed in carrying
despatches to the States-General from King William, and had, during his repeated visits
to the Hague, made acquaintance with the widow Vandersloosh, who kept a Lust Haus[1],
a place of resort for sailors, where they drank and